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Gallia-Vinton ESC Newsletter

Volume 1, Issue 2 October 2016

Dr. Denise Shockley, Superintendent P.O. Box 178 60 Ridge Ave., Wood Hall, Room 131 Rio Grande, OH 45674 T: (740) 245-0593 | F: (740) 245-0596 www.galliavintonesc.org

A Publication of the Gallia-Vinton Educational Service Center

A Message from the ESC Superintendent As public agencies, educational service centers (ESCs) receive some state funding to support operations.

Despite their public and not-for-profit status, ESCs are unable to generate funds through taxation. Each ESC depends on revenues from contracted delivery of services to districts, public dollars, and/or grant funds as their primary sources of revenue. During an average year, 8% of the Gallia-Vinton ESC’s funding is provided by the state, 78% federal/state grants, 2% other entities, and 12% is generated through fee-for-service contracts with customer school districts.

Upcoming in November: • November 8

Election Day • November 13-16

OSBA Capital Conference • November 15

RESA Year 3/Facilitator Update Meeting • November 16

RESA Year 3/Facilitator Update Meeting • November 17

RESA Year 3/Facilitator Update Meeting • November 23-25

ESC Closed – Thanksgiving Break

New Centralized Transportation Center Coming A new, exciting project is happening in Gallia County. The Gallia-Vinton ESC was successful in obtaining a Straight A Grant in the amount of $565,425 to help fund a shared services transportation center. The Gallia Fleet Services project will be built on property owned by Gallipolis City Schools (in close proximity to Green Elementary) and can provide maintenance services to not only the Gallipolis City Schools bus fleet, but to other districts and governmental entities as well. Maintenance work will be performed by Gallipolis City Schools’ maintenance employees. All participating districts and agencies can expect reduced cost in parts and labor as a result of using a shared services facility. The transportation center will be completed prior to the end of the 2016-2017 school year. More details to follow in future publications. Ohio’s Straight A Fund supports ideas from local educators that promote economic efficiency and effectiveness, long-term sustainability and scalability. Authority for the Straight A Fund derives from Section 263.350 of Am. Sub. H.B. No. 64 of the 131st General Assembly.

Pictured left to right: Tony Lauro (P.E.), Troy Johnson (Director of Transportation and Safety, GCS ), Randy Evans (Randy Evans Construction LLC), and Dr. Denise Shockley (ESC Superintendent)

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Every Student, Every Day: A National Initiative to Address and Eliminate Chronic Absenteeism The U.S. Departments of Education (ED), Health and Human Services (HHS), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and Justice (DOJ) planned and implemented a national initiative to address and eliminate chronic absenteeism beginning in the 2015-2016 school year. The departments felt that a coordinated community action that addresses the underlying causes of local chronic absenteeism affecting millions of children in our public schools could dramatically reverse trends by reducing absenteeism by 10% each school year. Chronic absenteeism—or missing at least 10 percent of school days in a school year, excused or unexcused—is a primary cause of low academic achievement and a powerful predictor of those students who may eventually drop out of school. When students are in school every day, they are much more likely to engage in positive behaviors, stay on track academically, and graduate from high school.

To earn a high school diploma in Ohio, you must complete courses and then choose an option on the right to show that you are ready for college or a job.

Other Requirements Instruction is required in economics and financial literacy along with completion of at least two semesters in fine arts. Local district credit requirements to graduate are:

Vinton County Local – 22 Credits Wellston City – 22 Credits Gallia County Local – 21 Credits Jackson City – 21 Credits Gallipolis City – 21 Credits

The average dropout can expect to earn an annual income of $22,057, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That's $11,612 less than the typical high school graduate, $20,104 less than someone earning an associate’s degree with occupational/vocational training, and $40,834 less than someone with a bachelor’s degree.

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Local Implementation of the Federal and State Truancy Law Students in the Gallia County Local Schools are given an attendance letter along with a student handbook contained in a planner or “agenda” at the start of school that explains the attendance policy. Gallia County Local Schools allows 10 parent/guardian excused notes each school year. Five unexcused tardies become one unexcused absence. Students in middle and high school with two unexcused days meet with the principal or assistant principal and the attendance officer to discuss the reasons for the unexcused days. These meetings also clarify the procedures and outcomes for the student. As a part of this step, a letter is also sent home with the student. This letter informs parents of the meeting that took place, reviews the procedures and outcome, and gives the parents an opportunity to “fix” at least one of the occurrences. Mr. Hammond, Gallia County Local Schools Attendance Officer, says, “These meetings open the door for students to bring problems and frustrations to school administrators. At the same time, the school staff can stress the importance of good attendance and the impact on being able to graduate on time. The meetings are designed to be non-threatening and positive by giving students and parents the opportunity to address issues before they grow into larger problems.” After the third unexcused absence, a first notice is issued. This step includes a statement warning that a Diversionary Hearing will be scheduled on the next unexcused absence. After the fourth unexcused absence, a Diversionary Hearing is held with the Court Diversionary Officer, school principal, Gallia County Local Attendance Officer, parent or guardian, and student. After the fifth unexcused absence, a contact letter is sent from the attendance officer requesting that a parent/guardian contact the attendance officer or school concerning the absences. If there are further unexcused absences, a home visit or other contact from the attendance officer or Court Diversionary Officer may be scheduled. If the problem is not resolved and the absences still continue, formal charges will be filed. A court date is then set for a hearing in juvenile court.

Appointment of New Executive Director – ADAMHS Board With the beginning of State Fiscal Year 2017, the Gallia-Jackson-Meigs Board of Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services announced the appointment of Robin Harris as the new Executive Director. Mrs. Harris had previously served as Deputy Director and was appointed Interim Executive Director upon the sudden passing of long-time Executive Director, Ronald A. Adkins. “The sudden loss of Ron Adkins was a devastating blow to our staff and Board of Directors, both at a personal and professional level. However, we managed to enter the new fiscal year

with programs, contracts and budgets intact. The tasks set before us would have been impossible except for the dedication and professionalism of my staff and board members.” The ADAMHS Board is statutorily defined as having responsibility to plan, fund and monitor behavioral healthcare for Gallia, Jackson and Meigs counties. This is accomplished through contracts with agencies certified by the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. As state and federal legislation is driving a re-design of behavioral health services, the ADAMHS Board is focused on a “recovery-oriented” system of care. While “recovery” does not always mean “cure”, people living with addictions and other brain diseases can live, work and sustain an individually appropriate lifestyle when their community offers an array of supportive services. The board will call upon agencies to offer traditional crisis and counseling services as well as vocational opportunities, life skills, supportive housing, transportation, spiritual supports and a variety of other services. Although the Appalachian Ohio Region is considered to be among the most poorly resourced, Mrs. Harris is quick to point out the strengths that lie in close interagency and inter-governmental relationships in Southeastern Ohio. “I am confident that we, along with our community, governmental and service partners will continue to put forth our very best efforts to meet the needs of those we serve.”

Ron Hammond, Attendance

Officer

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OSU Extension - Programs in Vinton County Local Schools Ohio State University Extension (OSUE) brings the knowledge of the university directly to local communities through the use of scientific-based information to better lives, businesses and communities. OSUE delivers programs in the areas of family and consumer sciences, 4-H youth development, community development, and agriculture and natural resources.

Vinton County is currently the only county that has an active “Alternative Spring Break” trip in which OSUE personnel work alongside OSU students to spend a week in the Vinton County Local Schools (VCLS). These OSU students engage with youth in Grades 3-8 and 10-11 to provide age relevant post-secondary information to prepare students for life after high school. For 7 years, students in Grades 3-5 have participated in a STEM activity with the OSU students in the classroom. OSUE conducts afterschool 4-H clubs at each elementary school that focus on the scientific method and engineering design process with Grades 2-5. Starting in November, OSUE will partner with NASA and National 4-H to provide two opportunities for students that participate in the afterschool program “Project Boost”. Tech Wizards will start at Central Elementary and involve students in STEM and career awareness activities with teen mentor guidance during the year-long experience. Students in Grades 4-6 at all afterschool sites will have an opportunity with NASA space related activities. In addition, students will talk to professionals at the NASA Glenn Center about the career path to NASA. OSUE personnel spend 4 days in 6th grade classrooms teaching students about “real life” financial management using the Real World, Real Money curriculum to explore careers, income, expenses, needs, wants and the importance of good decision making to manage money. Community leaders staff a one-day simulation at the conclusion that allows students to spend their monthly “pay check” at 12 booths. Vinton County OSUE staff are also providing healthy food choice education with students Grades 1-2 in the afterschool setting, life skill development for high school students, assistance in gardening, and service to community through middle school students.

VSA Ohio Awards Grant to Hope Haven School Hope Haven School, located at 822 Sellers Drive in Jackson, Ohio, has been selected for the Adaptation, Integration and the Arts (AIA) residency program during the 2016-2017 school year. The award was announced by VSA Ohio, the state organization on arts and disability. AIA partners educators in classrooms (inclusive of students with and without disabilities) with teaching artists to enhance teaching and learning through an arts-integrated residency and curriculum. Residency programs are academic content standards-based, utilize Universal Design for Learning strategies, cross all art mediums, and reach grades PreK-12. The primary goals are to improve academic achievement; better prepare students for life, work and post-secondary education; and, better prepare educators to support learning and inclusion for students with disabilities. Residency sites host community teaching artists for dozens of classroom hours and receive professional development trainings. Each residency program represents an investment of about $5,000. Adaptation, Integration and the Arts is supported by a grant from the Ohio Department of Education, Office of Exceptional Children, and a contract for services with The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Left to Right: Tracy Kuhn, Peggy Blackford, Patty Milliken, Kate Homonai, and Travis West, Agent

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BHCC STUDENT ELECTED TO TOP STATE LEADERSHIP POSITION Buckeye Hills Career Center is pleased to announce that Damon Hill has been elected to be the SkillsUSA Ohio State President for the 2016-17 school year. Damon was chosen from a field of five qualified candidates and was elected on April 26, 2016. SkillsUSA Ohio has over 28,000 members. Damon is a senior enrolled in the HVAC/Plumbing/Electrical program at Buckeye Hills and is a member of the National Technical Honor Society. His home school is South Gallia and he plays football for the Rebels. He plans to attend Ohio University next fall and major in Chemical Engineering. Damon represented the State of Ohio as a Voting Delegate during the SkillsUSA

National Convention in Louisville, KY this past June. He also presided over the SkillsUSA Ohio Leadership Camp this past summer held at Hocking College in Nelsonville, OH. Damon attended the Washington Training Institute held in Washington, D.C. this September. His Career and Technical Instructor is Mark Chaney. Mr. Chaney says of Damon, “He is very dependable, a hard worker, and a great young man. He has good leadership skills in the classroom and in the lab. It is always nice to see your student perform well at the next level of leadership.” Damon Hill is the first SkillsUSA State President from Buckeye Hills Career Center.

Gallia-Vinton ESC Business Advisory Council A Business Advisory Council serves a very important function for an educational service center. As described by statute in Ohio (ORC 3313.82), the Business Advisory Council advises and provides recommendations to the Governing Board on employment skills and the development of curriculum to instill these skills; on changes in the economy, the job market, and types of employment in which future jobs are most likely to be available; and suggestions for developing a working relationship among businesses, labor organizations, and educational personnel.

• Jeffrey Ahern, Ahern Financial Strategies • Aaron Allen, General Mills • Rachel Barker, Bossard Memorial Library • Brandi Betts, Vinton County National Bank • Scott Borden, University of Rio Grande Campus Police • Lynley Carey, University of Rio Grande • Jamie Conway, Buckeye Hills Career Center • Debby Crabtree, Jackson City Schools • Erin Dailey, OSU Extension – Jackson County • Shirley Doss, Gallia County Senior Citizens • Kent Eldridge, Buckeye Rural Electric Cooperative • Jenni Lewis, Area Agency on Aging • Justin Fallon, JMC Landscaping/Fallon Family Farms • John Gibson, Chesapeake Middle School • Rochelle Halley, Gallia County Local Schools

• Brenda Hawthorne, St. Mary’s Wellness Department • Jennifer Hughes, Markay Cultural Arts Center • Don Jenkins, Center for Student Achievement • Tim Jones, Pastor, Grace Baptist Church/ Red Cross • Shadra Jenkins, Jackson Area YMCA • Lucinda Kessler, Lee’s Steakhouse • Shawn Layne, Right Layne Driving School • Bonnie McFarland, Registered Nurse, Retired • Michelle Miller, Gallia County Chamber of Commerce • Jeff Moore, OSU Extension-Gallia County • Charles Oldaker, Jr., Service Wire Company • Robbie Pugh, Silver Screen VII • Karen Taylor, Green Valley Gathering Place • Deanna Tribe, OSU Extension, Retired

“Bodies Revealed” Exhibit at Bossard Memorial Library The highly anticipated “Bodies Revealed” exhibition has opened at the Bossard Memorial Library. The exhibition features real, whole and partial body specimens that have been meticulously preserved giving visitors the opportunity to view the complexity of their own organs and systems. For more information, call Lynn Pauley at (740) 446-READ (7323) or lpauley@bossardlibrary.org. Exhibit closes December 31, 2016.

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Transition Services at Guiding Hand School The Guiding Hand School, located at 77 Mill Creek Road in Gallipolis, Ohio, is operated by the Gallia County Board of Developmental Disabilities. In 1967, County Boards of DD were established by the Ohio state legislature to provide services to individuals with intellectual and other developmental disabilities. The school recognizes that supporting transition is an important piece of the IEP (Individualized Education Plan) for students 14 years of age and older. In an effort to improve the life progression for students, activities are incorporated into the school day to make the transition process as functional as possible. The activities help the students become integrated into the community. Examples include touring various places of employment and learning about the job skill requirements; ordering, eating,

and paying for meals in eating establishments; and, working with OOD (Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities). Currently, local businesses and community members come to the school and talk with students once a month on a variety of topics that are relevant as the students get older and transition into the community. For example, speakers have talked with the students about nutrition, housing, banking, job skills, safety, and benefits. This month the focus for transition was on safety and voting. The Gallia County Board of Elections talked with the students about voting and how to register to vote. A voting station was set up that allowed students to vote on their favorite pop, candy, cookie, candy, and president.

Spotlight on ESC Staff Fannie Metcalf is a consultant that specializes in after school programs, evaluation, and library media services. She is a graduate of Rio Grande College with a BSSE in Language Arts, History, Biological Science, and Library Media Science. She received a M. Ed. in

Classroom Teaching with a concentration in Fine Arts from the University of Rio Grande. She was previously a classroom teacher for Gallia County Local and the former North Gallia School District.

Deborah Canter is a consultant for Resident Educators and after school programs at the ESC. She graduated from Rio Grande College with a B.S. in Elementary Education and the University of Dayton with an M.S. in Educational Administration. She has previous

teaching experience in Meigs Local, Oak Hill Union Local Schools and the University of Rio Grande. Deborah has also been an administrator in Gallia County Local and Oak Hill Union Local Schools.

Robert Hudak is employed by the Gallia-Vinton ESC and serves as the School Psychologist for Gallipolis City Schools. He is a graduate of West Virginia University with an AB degree in School Psychology and Duquesne University with an M.S.Ed. in School

Psychology. He was a school psychologist for Gallia County Local Schools previously.

Jay Carter is the new Treasurer of the Gallia-Vinton ESC Governing Board. He is a graduate of the University of Rio Grande with a B.S. in Business and History. He holds an M.A.T. from Marshall University. Jay developed the P.I.L.O.T. Center after school program for Credit Recovery that

has received numerous regional and state awards.

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A special thanks to businesses and organizations that host field trips for afterschool students.

21st Century Community Learning Center grants provide a broad array of enrichment activities that complement academic programs.

Libraries and

Historical Associations

Our House Museum Bossard

Memorial Library

Gallia County

Historical ScoietyTecumseh

The Scioto Company

Point Pleasant River

Museum

Sylvester Memorial Library -Wellston

Recreation Time

Silver Screen VII

Skyline Lanes

Wellston Skateland

Trio Lanes

Tri-City Theatre

Triple Crown

Sporting Events

O.U. Hockey

Cincinnati Reds

Marshall Recreation Center

Ohio State

Athletics

Bowman's Driving Range

T.U. Teens Fly Fishing

cultural Occasions

Clay Center

Paramount Arts

Center

Vern Riffe Arts

CenterColumbus

Zoo

Newport Aquarium

King's Island

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Nonviolent Crisis Intervention® Training CPI’s Nonviolent Crisis Intervention® training program can help your facility meet requirements set by state and federal legislation or comply with accreditation agencies and funding sources (CMS, IDEA).

With a focus on prevention, the core training program equips staff with proven strategies for safely defusing anxious, hostile, or violent behavior at the earliest possible stage. It’s been setting the standard for crisis prevention and intervention training for over 35 years, and can help your organization:

• Reduce the risk of injury. • Comply with legislative mandates. • Meet regulatory/accreditation standards. • Improve staff retention. • Minimize exposure to liability. • Promote Care, Welfare, Safety, and SecuritySM.

Two Formats Available for Training: Two-Day Training Format On the first day of Nonviolent Crisis Intervention® training, the emphasis is on early intervention and nonphysical methods for preventing or managing disruptive behavior. CPI's disengagement skills are also demonstrated and practiced to prepare staff to safely remove themselves and others from a dangerous situation. You’ll learn: • How to identify behaviors that could lead to a crisis. • How to most effectively respond to each behavior to prevent the situation from escalating. • How to use verbal and nonverbal techniques to defuse hostile behavior

and resolve a crisis before it can become violent. • How to cope with your own fear and anxiety. • How to assess risk levels and consider the issues that impact decision making. • How to use CPI's disengagement skills to avoid injury if behavior becomes physical.

The second day of training expands on crisis intervention methods to include the study and practice of holding skills. These skills are taught to be used as a last resort when an individual becomes an immediate danger to self or others. You’ll learn:

• When it’s appropriate to physically intervene. • How to develop team intervention strategies and techniques. • How to assess the physical and psychological well-being of those involved in a crisis. • A progression of holding skills to manage aggressive behavior in least restrictive, safest manner. • How to maintain rapport with the acting-out

individual. • Key steps for debriefing after a crisis. • How to properly document an incident.

One-Day Hybrid Training Format In hybrid training, participants use a customized Hybrid Portfolio that links a web-based portion and a classroom-based portion of training. Participants use the web based reflective questions as a reference during the classroom session. Participants may choose to print the questions prior to start of the online session to follow along with the course and bring them to class for further discussion.

Call certified trainer Brett Wilson at (740) 245-0593 to

schedule your training.